The present invention relates to a wire connector for tapping to a wire particularly low-voltage hot-wire such as in a vehicle 12-volt and 24-volt systems. The invention also pertains to tapping into wires without severing or splicing the wire. In the prior art, tapping into a main or a hot wire or tying wires together is frequently done by one cut of the main wire and stripping the insulation from the wire ends and twisting or crimping the three (or more) wires together. A further technique in the prior art is to strip the insulation off the main or hot wire and wrap and solder the accessory wire thereon and then cover them with heat-shrink to reinsulate them. A third technique is used “Scotch Lok” (TM) type connector which taps into each wire with a blade shape that can in some instances destroy the wire strands and easily come apart.
An object of the present invention is to provide a T-tap into a wire without severing the wire or splicing the wire or with unusual tools or stripping the hot wire.
A further object of the invention is to provide a T-tap into an insulated main which substantially maintains the integrity of the main wire.
A further object of the invention is to provide a T-tap connector which will not pull apart or vibrate.
A further object of the invention is to provide a T-tap connector which has significantly less resistance than crimping or soldering into a T-tap.
According to the present invention, a T-tap connector is provided for connecting into the main insulated wire. It is comprised of a non-conductive housing member having first and second chambers and a wall separating the first and second chambers and colinear with the central axis. Each chamber has a threaded connection wall and a central axis and a common conductive member mounted in the wall separating the first and second chambers. The common conductive member has an insulation piercing sharp point on one end thereof and a means at the opposite end for clamping a wire thereto. In one embodiment, the means for clamping is according to the technique disclosed in Swenson, Sr. U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,875 wherein a bullet-shaped end is formed on the common conductive member and a first non-conductive coupling member having a threaded annular wall and an internal throughbore has one end of the throughbore shaped to clamp at least one bare wire end to the bullet-shape end of a common conductive element. In another embodiment, the conductive element has a hollow bore and a transverse ball which is urged by the non-conductive coupling member into the hollow bore of the common conductive member.
A second non-conductive coupling member is provided. The second non-conductive coupling member has a threaded surface which is adapted to threadably engage with the threaded connection wall on the second chamber bearing the sharp point end of the conductive element. The second non-conductive coupling member has a pair of aligned slots therein for receiving and transversely centering the main insulated conductor wire with the sharp point. The second non-conductive coupling member is adapted, when threadably engaged with the threaded connection wall of the second chamber, to multiply the manually applied twisting force to thereby drive the sharp point into the sharp point into the main conductor wire whereby the sharp point pierces the insulation on the main conductor wire, and wire strands are pushed or moved around making full electrical contact, thereby connecting the main conductor wire to at least one bare wire end. No wire strands are broken, and the wire integrity is maintained.
Thus, there is provided a method and apparatus for tapping into wires without splicing or stripping into the wire. The invention is particularly applicable to low voltage situations (automotive, boats, planes, etc.) for tapping into hot wires. The invention, however, is not limited to low-voltage applications.
In all cases, for safety, it is highly advisable to remove power from the circuit in which the hot wire is located so that the connection is made while there is no power on the wire.